Winning without Carty was important for Connacht - Wilkins

Saturday's win against the Stormers was important for Connacht beyond the four match points according to senior coach Pete Wilkins.

Their 19-17 win against the South Africans at the Sportsground lifted them back up to sixth in the United Rugby Championship table, but it was also notable as it was their first of the campaign without captain Jack Carty.

The out-half has been ever-present when available for selection this season, but Connacht looked flat in their two games when he was absent, losing heavily to both the Glasgow Warriors and Ulster.

With Conor Fitzgerald impressing at 10 in last Saturday's narrow win over the Stormers, Wilkins admits it was important for the team to prove they can perform without Carty.

"I do think it's important. I think it is a factor," he said, ahead of this Friday night's visit to Edinburgh.

"At the same time it's not at the front of everyone’s mind, but there's an awareness of it. Jack has played incredibly well for us this season and earned his opportunity with the national squad. It’s important to recognise the quality he’s brought to us, but not develop a reliance on him being there.

"Conor had a really positive performance, and the important bit for him was how he controlled the team and ran the game, and had the result. Having that result in a tight game adds even more value to that. The value was Conor’s performance rather than result, but the result doubled down on that."

While Fitzgerald impressed against the South Africans, it's likely that Carty will reclaim the number 10 jersey for this Friday night's trip to the Edinburgh Rugby Stadium.

The 29-year-old has been released back to the province along with hooker Dave Heffernan for the Six Nations break weekend, adding to a healthy